MBTA taps Alstom for LRT overhaul

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Board of Directors Wednesday awarded a $104 million contract to Alstom for the overhaul of 86 light rail transit vehicles. The LRT cars were originally built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

Alstom will perform the work at its Hornell, N.Y. shops.

MBTA's contract calls for Alstom to complete a "selective systems overhaul" in roughly three years.

The move appears to be fiscally separate from MBTA's fiscal 2013-2017 Capital Improvement Plan, approved earlier this year, which includes the procurement of funds for the replacement of both Red Line and Orange Line heavy rail (subway) cars at a cost of $728.7 million.